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Microsoft has quietly increased the prices on Office for Mac 2011, putting them on par with Office 2013 for Windows, reports note. The change appears to have taken place in late January or early February, but went unannounced by Microsoft. At the same time, multi-license bundles have been dropped, which previously allowed people to buy several copies of Office at a discounted rate.

A single license of Office for Mac Home & Student is now $140, up from $120. Office for Mac Home & Business -- which includes Outlook -- has likewise risen $20 to $220. The extinct bundles included a $150 package of three Home & Student licenses, and a pair of Home & Business licenses for $250. Instead Microsoft is pushing subscriptions to Office 365; the cheapest plan costs $100 per year or $10 per month, but allows up to five computers to run Office for Mac or Windows.
Office for Mac 2011 may still be available at cheaper prices from third-party vendors like Amazon. That site is still selling Home & Student for $119, and Home & Business for $176.

Microsoft didn't react for several years to get a permanent edge in the tablet software arena. Now they decide that tablets are not a fad, like the internet, and decide they will jump in with too little, too late and for good measure they will overcharge for the service. Many other companies are already providing the ability to create, view, and share the file types that office uses and they are not nearly as expensive.

Kind of reminds me of the NY Times deciding to charge for an application that nobody really needs.

If Microsoft made the Mac version of Office on par w/ the Windows version, it'd be worth paying the same price. Otherwise, I'll go w/ the Office alternatives like Google, OpenOffice, Libre, etc. that go for free w/ no less the features Office for Mac has.